Beauty and The Knight
by Crun0l
Summary: Of course out of all the people Darling had heard of, it was Rosabella. Not like she had a choice. Her heart had a mind of its own, it didn't seem to care if the speed it was beating at killed her. And of course her brain making her feel overly happy when she was near her. Darling was an emotional train wreck of a knight. Head over heels for a girl she barely even knew. AU Rosaling
1. Beauty and the Pen

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ever After High.**

* * *

Darling Charming hated English. From it's simple read paragraph two', to the complex 'answer this 15 mark question'. It was difficult. And frustrating. And a real sleep thief. But Darling brawled through with hard work and endurance. She had to, a 'charming must always be at the top of her class!'

"Hey, can I borrow your pen?"

Darling looked up from her book. She wasn't expecting Rosabella to be leaning over her, or talking to her. It took a while for her brain to process that Rosabella needed a pen from her, before she scrambled to fetch the nearest pen her hand could grab. 'A charming must always be willing to help others' a phrase drilled into Darling's mind since birth.

"Of course." Darling replied. Rosabella accepted the pen, unbeknownst to her that it was Darling's favourite blue and white knight pen.

43 minutes later the students packed their bags and rushed towards the door. Except for Darling who was left behind. As usual. Her bag slung over her shoulder and then she made her way outside. However before she could step outside the classroom she saw the familiar red and black hair stick up from the crowd. Well fuck. The owner's eyes saw her faster than she could hide, so Darling sprinted. As fast as a Charming could while looking respectable. Until she found herself trapped. "Chase, why are you chasing me?"

Chase's voice growled. "You play that same pun every single day!"

"And it only gets funnier!" Chase glared straight into Darling's blue eyes. However when Chase didn't reflect any motion of joking, panic flashed in Darling's eyes, and she thought maybe she had pushed it too far.

"Ha! You blinked!" Chase's laugh echoed in the corridor. A frown made its way to Darling's face.

"I thought you were being serious!"

Laughter filled the air. This time it was both of theirs.

"Hey? You want to go outside?" The duo made their way towards their respective year group areas outside.

Darling and Chase had been friends since reception. Their weird obsession about knights is what them best friends. Their compatibility was what made them related, in some weird knighthood way they could think of.

"I love that smell of flowers." Chase said sarcastically. Outdoors there was an overpowering smell of waste.

"Don't tell me there was a leak." Darling pinched her nose. Darling was slightly disappointed. Darling was really looking forward to spending break outside with Chase, now that he finally wasn't trapped indoors. But of course it had stink. No wonder there were rarely any students out, only, Ashylnn and Hunter talking to Rosabella - "Oh My pen!" Darling walked towards Rosabella. Forgetting about Chase who was still processing what Darling had just said.

When they saw her conversation had ended. A heavy silence pushed them apart. Until Darling gathered courage to end it. "Hey Rosabella, may I have my pen please?". It took a while for Rosabella to process her question, and then respond. "Yeah sure."

"Hunter and I are going to talk to Mr. Stilskin like we said. Talk to you later." Rosabella frowned for a split second before returning to unzipping her bag. She rummaged through her bag, before pulling out her pencil case and a few sheets with it. Darling reached to pick them off the gravel.

"What's this?"

"It's uh, leaflets for the party next week Saturday?"

"Leaflets?"

"Yeah, it's to let people know that the three pounds donation goes towards the animal charity. And also what kind of party it is, and the animal charity we're doing it for is-" Darling stared at the sheets in her hand. Her mind pondered, drifting her out of reality when she thought about the party. She thought about dancing and playing jokes with the guys and actually mingling with her brothers for once. Then her eyes read over black tie masquerade – she would have to wear a DRESS. Wearing a skirt to school was more than what she wanted. Heck, even wearing a skirt when she went out with her parents. But now that she had a choice, she had to wear a DRESS?

"It's from 7 to 9…So are you coming?"

"No. I can't. I have ballet lessons." Rosabella's smile sunk from her face. There was a flicker of hurt in her eyes. Unnoticeable to all, but Darling sensed it. Darling felt it. She felt guilty for hurting Rosabella. Knights do not hurt innocent people. Rosabella hadn't done anything wrong (as far as Darling could tell). Darling had dishonoured her Knight's Code. There wasn't anything she could do to bring that smile back, or undo the disappointment she could see in Rosabella, but wait awkwardly for her goddamned pen.

Until she found an opportunity. "Hey, would you like me to hang some of those leaflets by the Red Building?"

"No it's okay, I can manage."

"Come on, it'll make your job a lot easier. I'm going towards there for history." Rosabella found it hard to say no to Darling. Especially when Darling pulled an irresistible face that couldn't be declined. Rosabella gave Darling a small stack of sheets, to post around the Red Building.

When both left, they both felt better than when they met.

Darling scanned the Red Building. It was fairly new, with an outer wooden structure for modern effect, and inside a brick layer for decoration, covered in posters about anti-bullying and school events. Teachers with assigned rooms here were definitely more lenient. Which is why if anything happened, the Red Building was never far off. Darling found it tricky to locate the best areas to hang posters for a charity fund raiser/ party. Maybe she'd pick the wall next to the bin, or the wall near the exit. She decided to post one on both.

Darling was stapling leaflets next to the cutlery queue area when she heard footsteps shuffling against wood. "BOO!"

Darling turned around casually. "What the... You weren't even scared..." Chase pouted.

"I could hear you from a mile away."

"Come to Briar's Disco Ball? 26th of September... 3 pound entrance fee, for donation to animal charity in Greenfield. Black tie masquerade?" Chase read out loud. "You going?" He asked.

Darling paused for a second before she responded "no I'm not, I have 'ballet'." Chase only rolled his eyes at this response. He knew Darling didn't want ANYONE to know her secret, but when it was just two of them in the corridor? He thought she was just being paranoid.

"I can ask my dad to cancel your "ballet" lessons, you can still go. " Darling looked at Chase sceptically. Did he seriously just offer her the WORST idea ever? To sacrifice the mask she spent 10 years building up? No, no way. Chase scoffed.

"Look, it even says masquerade. No one has to know it's you." Darling knew Chase had his off days, but this was just off the scale. Then a member of staff appeared "Chase Redford! You were supposed to be at my detention!"

Chase whispered "I'll message you okay?" Before spinning round sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I completely forgot." When Chase looked back, the hall had been empty, like Darling never even existed. The only thing that could claim witness were the leaflets still hanging on the wall, crowded by posters. But they never made a noise, and allowed the wind to silently stroke them in the breeze.

* * *

Slowly lunch arrived. Darling was sitting on her own, munching on a pre-made sandwich. The school food, like most schools, were what many pupils referred to as 'shit'. However what Darling found worse at lunch was Chase's amazing skill at capturing detentions. If Darling said she wasn't lonely, she lied. She wasn't alone, but she wasn't with anyone she knew. Anyone who'd stop munching just to say 'hi'. Anyone who even knew she existed. Thinking about it, she didn't have many people she could call friends either. There was only... Chase. At least her ham sandwich had mayo. Luckily Chase arrived. Thank god he did. Chase's eyes scanned over a few tables until he saw Darling. Alone. Darling looked up, and noticed Chase and Alistair dropping their plates on the tables, and then pulling out smuggled sandwiches from their pockets. Immediately after, people from Darling's year group started pouring in. Including Rosabella. Chase was talking about sport with Alistair. Darling would've been slyly eavesdropping like she usually was but she couldn't help glancing over to Rosabella. She was sitting with her cousin Briar, her (whom Darling assumed were her friends) Ashlynn, Apple, and Cerise.

"What an odd combination." Darling thought. After all Rosabella and Cerise weren't exactly the most popular, so seeing them sitting next to the 'Royals', well... Something must be happening.

Suddenly Briar stood on the table. "Attention! Please!" The room became silent, and everyone was looking at Briar, (apart from Darling who was still staring at Rosabella). Briar was holding one of the leaflets that Darling had spent time hanging on the walls. "I know this term has been pretty boring for most of you, that's why I'd like to announce there's a party coming up, and all of you are invited!" Then her cousin Rosabella joined her on the table.

"It's a charity event all the money donated will be going straight towards the animal charity!" Her voice was clear and confident when she spoke. Rosabella always seemed to be the shy kind of girl to Darling but in truth she wasn't. Rosabella, although she hung out with the 'weird' kids, she was cool. And most definitely beautiful.

"Woah, you okay there?" Chase frowned. He hadn't seen Darling so out of a conversation that was sports based.

"Uh yeah, I just got distracted." Darling was shocked herself. She hadn't even realised they were talking. Or had finished eating. As they were about to leave Daring and Dexter Charming entered the room. He scanned the room for free seats and then noticed one next to his dear sister Darling. Naturally many of the girls stared or drooled. Darling's brothers had that kind of effect on people. Then of course 'Goldilocks' arrived. Her real name? No one knew. Even the teachers referred to her as 'Goldilocks. "So Daring? You coming to the party next weekend?"

"Of course I'll be attending!" He gave his signature Charming smile. Goldilocks giggled then walked off. Darling just rolled her eyes.

* * *

At the end of the day, the Charming siblings arrived at the Charming Manor. However they did not expect their parents to be waiting by the door, furiously. "Daring Charming!" Easily Darling and Dexter slipped past their parents. At times like this it was good not being the favourite. No pressure. No unbelievably high expectations which were inhumane. No adoring love from parents. Yep it was great not being the favourite.

Darling was watching Don't You Dare with Dexter. Well both of them were texting other people, not really paying any attention when Daring arrived.

"So, how was it?" Dexter asked. Daring flopped onto the couch.

"They said I'm not going to any weekend activities until I bring my homework grades up. I can't believe Mr. Stilskin phoned my parents when he found out the only reason I didn't finish the project was because I was with… What's her name again?"

"Wow you don't even remember her name." Dexter rolled his eyes. "Classic Daring move." He thought. "Spend homework time on girls." Dexter was glad Daring didn't get away with it like he usually did.

"So… Does that mean you're not going to the party next week?"

"I'm hoping to. But if Mr. Stilskin has another bad day, I don't think I'm going to."

"What's the time?" Darling asked.

"It's three minutes to seven."

Ding-Dong. It was the doorbell.

"That might be Chase." Darling opened the door, and she was right. Chase was waiting for her in a black tracksuit with red Addidas trainers.

"You ready?" Darling nodded, and went into the car with Chase. Chase sat in the front next to his mum, and Darling sat at the back. "Good Evening Auntie."

"Darling, how nice it is to see you! How was school?"

"School was good. Nothing interesting happened."

"Oh really? Chase tells me there's a masquerade party arriving next week Saturday, are you going?."

Did Chase really tell his mum that? "You know I used to have quite a few masquerade parties back in my day, I feel old saying that now. But my best friend and I used to have the best masks, and I used to make them, from scratch. They were bedazzling!"

"Of course she'll be going!" Chase replied.

"Fabulous! Don't worry about buying anything!"

"I'm not going Aunty." For a while there's no response. All that's heard is the engine from the car, mixed in with the radio.

Until a soft whispered response. "Why dear?" Then Darling thinks about why. She Normally she's fine about attending parties, so why was this different? Maybe it was her realisation at lunch. Or maybe it was how she had to keep hiding and locking herself away. How she could never be free and always had to put on a front. Uncontrollably tears start swelling up. Darling fought desperately to hold them in, but they retaliated and ran down her cheeks. Chase turned round and saw Darling crying he panicked slightly then undid his seatbelt and climbed to the back of the car. Darling felt like she was being held together by Chase's hug. At moments like these she was really grateful for Chase. And his mum. "It's alright. You don't have to hold them back." Chase offered. So Darling let them go. "This is so embarrassing."

"Yeah. It is." Chase chuckled in response.

"Well Chase, your science teacher told me that you got one of the highest scores in your class." Chase smiled shyly. "Well I'm proud of you."

"Thanks mum. But Darling was the one who explained how all the sciency stuff works." Chase was about to continue the conversation when he noticed the unfamiliar red car in his driveway. "Mum... Who's is that?"

"I'm not sure... Could it be?" The car stopped. When opened the door, Darling didn't even have time to think before piercing squeals almost made her deaf. "Abby!"

"Well it took you long enough. Didn't you get my message?" Darling felt like she had seen this 'Abby' woman from somewhere. It was only when she saw Lizzie Hearts sitting at the bottom of the stairs when she realised, she saw this person at parents evening. Chase pulled Darling indoors. Seeing Lizzie Hearts up front was definitely more intimidating than she thought. "Hey Lizzie." Lizzie looked up then glared.

"Why don't we go upstairs?" Chase offered. Lizzie frowned for a moment before accepting.

"A movie? Who's up for The Staring Glass?" Asked Chase.

"Sure." Darling replied.

The movie was very awkward. Chase and Darling had been looking forward to this film for three months, and it was great, but Lizzie seemed to show no interest in interacting with Darling. Or anyone for that matter. She just stared blankly at the screen. During the ads Chase reutrned from downstairs. "Do you like salty? It's the only flavour we have left. For some reason." Chase muttered the last sentence under his breath. Darling heard though, then mouthed 'it wasn't me.' Chase simply rolled his eyes.

"That's fine. I won't eat anything." Lizzie replied.

"Oh okay." Chase sat in the middle of the girls with the popcorn. "Do you know why your mum is here?"

"No." They sit in awkward silence for a few moments before Darling attempts to spark a conversation.

"Sooo. Lizzie, are you in any sports teams outside of school?"

"Yes."

"Which one?"

"Hockey. "

More awkward silence... Until surprisingly Lizzie decides to speak.

"Darling what are you doing here?" Shocked by Lizzie's aggressive tone Darling panics slightly. She's not sure how to respond. Tell the truth, or say what her parents would expect her to say. Either way 'I don't know' was not an option.

"I'm just hanging out with Chase. Is that wrong?" Lizzie scoffed. As if she believed Darling. Chase, stuck between the two, was confused more than ever.

"What the hell just happened?" He thought. Darling stands up and walks out of the room.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

Darling felt the cold water rush down her palms. When she looked into the mirrors she noticed her mascara hadn't run, and she was thankful for that. At first she thought Lizzie wasn't talking to her because she looked like a panda. Well that wasn't the reason, her eyes were only slightly pink now. So maybe it was Darling. Darling knew she wasn't very good at talking to girls her age when she wasn't at events with her parents looming over her shoulder. Or maybe Lizzie just didn't feel like talking. Yeah that had to be it. It definitely wasn't Darling's lacking social skills. So she left the bathroom. She stopped. Darling was very confused. Was that laughter she heard?

"Haha! And then I scored. Wow she practically threw a fit!" That was definitely Lizzie's voice. At least Darling knew why Lizzie wasn't talking to her.

About 15 minutes later Chase stands up from next to Lizzie. "Hold on, I'm going to find out what's taking Darling so long." Chase walks out the room in search for his best friend, until he sees her sitting on the top of the stairs. "What are you doing? I thought you were looking forward to this film."

"I'll watch it later. Plus you guys were talking through it." Chase was not buying a single word she said.

"The truth please."

"Alright, I could hear how well you and Lizzie got on. I'm so socially awkward I'm pretty sure she hates me. I'd rather have Lizzie and you comfortable, than for all of us to be there together, sitting in awkward silence."

"Bullshit. Look she'll like you. Stop moping around in your self-pity and come watch the film. Movies aren't meant to be talked through either way. You're shy, not socially awkward. All you have to do is become comfortable with yourself." Darling thought about watch Chase said. Was it really true? Or not. Either way she was going back to watch the film.

As Darling expected they were back to awkward silence, but it quickly shimmered away into comfortable silence. The movie finished and they were watching the next thing that came after. By the looks of it a boring documentary no one could be bothered to change. Darling had her head leaning against Chase's hard shoulder, not that she minded. Soon she fell asleep.

* * *

 **Basically this is like an introductory chapter. But I don't like prologues... so yeh. I'm going to be straight up with you from the beginning. I'm not very good at being organised at the moment. And I don't really know where I'm going with this. There are no pre-written chapters. Just maybe I few ideas I have in my head, that may or may not work. So if you get confused, don't get scared to ask. It is Rosaling. Darabella. Darbella. Whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure if this will turn out to be a slow burn. I might change the rating from T to M depending on where the events of the story might fall into. I'l let you know in the chapter if it happens. It won't be something I just spring on you. Anyway read you later,**

 **Crunol**


	2. Beauty and the Kit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ever After High.**

* * *

When Darling next opened her eyes, she was in her room. Which she found odd because she did not recollect ever falling asleep there. Then she remembered she fell asleep on Chase's shoulder while Lizzie was there. "Well that's embarrassing" she thought. She swung out of bed dressed in her pyjamas. Her throat felt dry, and she was feeling kind of cold. She knew the perfect remedy. "Hot chocolate." She walked downstairs only to find her brother Dexter staring at a screen with his hair messy and eyes red. What she wasn't expecting see was his glasses on the floor, not on his face. She decided to leave him undisturbed. While waiting for the kettle to boil she didn't hear Dexter enter the room.

"Hey, can you make me one too, please?" He whispered in a raspy voice. Darling nodded, not expecting Dexter to see. Soon Dexter received his hot chocolate and then went back to what he was doing on his laptop.

"So… You want to tell me what you're up to?" Darling asked.

"Er, I'm just taking an eye test. "

"An eye test? Online? I know I'm blonde Dexter, doesn't mean I'm going to believe something as stupid as that."

"Fine, fine. I'm just looking up ways to impress girls. "

"Please don't tell me this is about Raven."

"It's not." Darling looked straight into Dexter's tired eyes. Not believing a single a word he said.

"I thought you said you were over her!"

"Yeah, I thought that too, but every time I look at her. I can't help feeling what I do! I just want her to like me this time. As a classmate. I'm not trying to marry her anymore." Darling rolled her eyes in response.

"Alright okay. I'm going to go back to bed."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight " In truth Darling felt sorry for Dexter. She knew how much he loved her, but when Raven showed no interest in returning his feelings it became painful. But it hurt most when Dexter started to see she didn't love him either. His mood soured, and he took most of his anger on his family. His relationship with Darling suffered the most. They weren't as close as they used to be. Conversations they used to have became unheard. Now that they were back on good terms, the last thing Darling wanted was for their relationship to be ruined again, all because of the same reason. She took a sip from her hot chocolate and allowed the worries to drift away. Hot chocolate really was the best before bed. Then she downed it and placed the empty cup on the floor. Tucked in bed, Darling just closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to take her wherever it wanted to travel to.

* * *

When Darling arrived at school she was glad Chase walked up to her when he did. Honestly the dream she had last night, bugged her more than anything. "How was Lizzie?" She asked.

"Pretty good, no wait. Not in that sense. What I mean is she left soon after you fell asleep so it wasn't that bad. How was your dream?"

"It was pretty good? You appeared in it. "

"Really? Was I a dashing knight?"

"Dashing? No. A knight? Yeah, actually you were. " Darling and Chase started walking toward their form rooms. Form time in the morning was boring. You weren't allowed to use your phones or talk to people. You were only allowed to read books. Which was good if you were a complete book nerd like Darling's cousin, but if you weren't, you'd be sitting in silence for the supposed twenty minutes. That's why Darling and Chase made sure to take very long detours.

"Wait, so who else was in your dream?"

"Well, you, my brothers, me and Rosabella."

"Rosabella?"

"Yeah, she got captured by the dragon so we had to go rescue her." Chase didn't know what to think. His mum had told him dreams always had a message, some more clearer than others. So what they hell did her dream mean if it meant anything? He'd just text her, she was expecting a message from him today anyways. _'Hi mum, I had a dream about my friends and I going off to rescue this girl, what does it mean?'_

"Chase? Are you even listening? No you're not. Who're you texting? You're mum?! What the hell Chase, you'd rather text your mum than listen to me. I'm hurt."

"Sorry, sorry. Come on it's almost ten to, we'll miss the register." They both went their separate ways. Chase was nearing his classroom when his pocket went buzz. He checked his phone. "A reply?"

 _'Is there a girl you're crushing on in school dear? It sounds very romantic, the knight in shining armour rescues the princess from the evil clutches of a dragon. You must give me the name. Either that or you've been watching too many action films before bed. Have a lovely day at school!'_

Chase just stared at his screen. "Was Darling crushing on Rosabella?" He thought, immediately after he brushed it off his mind. They were definitely watching an action film before bed so it was probably that. Last time Chase checked, Darling was not gay, or lesbian for that matter. Right?

"Hey Chase! You playing tonight?" When Alistair called out from the distance, Chase immediately filed his thoughts away somewhere separate. Today he was going to focus. No break-time detentions.

He was half way through geography. All that he needed to do was stay awake and take all the notes down, and then he wouldn't have to worry. He could barely focus, staying up all night to do something that probably wasn't that important wasn't a good idea. Now he felt himself drifting off into a dark abyss and he had no energy to fight it with. "Oi, Dexter. " That shocked Dexter back to life. "Are you going to the party next week?" It was his best mate Humphrey Doughty, who asked.

"No. I might do some revision instead. Honestly right now, I just want to sleep."

"Whaa? I need you. Apple's going to be attending. I have to go."

"You say that to every single one of her parties and then pussy out in the last minute. This time won't be any different. "

"This time is different!" Humphrey's whole face lit up like a starry night sky. "It's a masquerade! Therefore I can talk to her and she won't even know it's me!"

"Who're you going to be? Identity fraud is wrong Humphrey."

"No man, it's a total confidence booster. You could talk to Raven and if you messed up she wouldn't even know it's you. You could literally say anything!"

"Honestly Humphrey, I doubt a mask is going to make her believe it's not me. She's smarter than that."

"Not if you buy the right ones." Humphrey smirked. He knew a 'secret' website that sold the best masks, that pretty much made it impossible to tell who it was. "Reviews say, that if you look in the mirror wearing these masks you won't even recognise yourself. PLUS it even comes with a costume that complements your masks, but that's definitely optional. Look I'll send you the link later." Dexter too tired to argue just allowed Humphrey to get away with whatever he was saying. But what it true though? Would he be able to talk to Raven and not mess up every single second? Dexter decided he would check the website later on in the evening to find out if it was legit or not. Now he just wanted to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile Darling was having a great start to her day. She had forgotten to bring her USB stick in to school today, the one with her four-week presentation due in today, on it. When she thought her day couldn't get worse she had forgotten to bring in her textbook for chemistry, AND her PE kit. Unsurprisingly her attitude about today worsened.

"Guess who didn't get a detention today!" At least she had Chase for break today. "Aw what's with the frown?"

"I just completely forgot everything today!"

"Don't worry about it. We all forget things, this time it happened to you. You just have to find ways to deal with it."

"I forgot my PE kit Chase."

"Oh." Chase could see the panic in Darling's eyes. She was completely stressing out. A detention was something anyone could handle. A PE detention was hell. It was actually torture. They forced you to sit in agonising silence, to stare out into eternal boredom. If you made even the slightest noise you'd have to come back to do the same thing but AFTERSCHOOL. One kid had to come back after school only because he was BREATHING too loudly. As much as she loved PE, this was one thing she hated on the earth. One thing she would avoid at all costs. Darling was considering going home early today. "Let's go out and watch your brother's play football. I think Hunter might be getting into a fight with someone from the older years.

"Okay." Darling reluctantly replied. She'd rather mellow around in her own pity before her doom. But maybe a decent fight might be able to cheer her up.

"Hey Darling!" Rosabella called out from the distance. Darling stopped in her tracks.

"I'll wait by the side." Chase said before walking off.

"Hey I just wanted to say thanks for helping me hang up those leaflets on the wall."

"No problem. "

"I think the party might actually go well. I was getting really nervous in case people were really put off by the masquerade bit, but reactions were mostly positive!"

"It does sound really cool."

"It does suck that you can't attend. You do seem really cool." Darling was taken aback by that. A smile crept onto her face; she wasn't expecting to hear that at all from anyone in her school.

"Rosabella?"

"Yes Darling."

"Do you have a spare PE kit I can borrow?" Rosabella thought about it for a few seconds before replying.

"Yeah, but it's not been washed. You can still borrow it if you want though."

"Thanks so much!" Chase and Darling made their way to the fields.

Chase was very unsure what to think of their 'chat'. If Darling's dream did mean what his mum thought it did, well Chase didn't know what to think. He studied Darling's reactions and saw the way Darling smiled towards Rosabella." But that doesn't have to mean anything, right?" He thought. "That could just mean she's happy." Then he saw Rosabella walk away, and decided to approach Daring and ask directly. "So what was that all about?"

"Oh she just came to say thanks, and she let me borrow her PE kit! Which means no PE detention!" Darling cheered, she stopped when she noticed Chase wasn't cheering with her.

"Chase you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good."

"Let's go watch that fight then."

When they reached outside there wasn't actually a fight, but apparently they were close to having one. Darling didn't mind too much, her day was finally looking up, and she had her best friend. Then Alistair came over.

"Heyo guys, want to join and play touch rugby?" Chase looked at Darling, not wanting to ditch her, but the thrill of touch rugby!

"Go ahead Chase, I can't tie you down." She beckoned.

"Yeah, I'm coming Alistair!"

"You're so excited for a guy who's going to have his ass handed to him!"

"Not in your wildest dreams Alice!"

Darling sat alone on the bench. In the corner of her eye, she saw Rosabella. She seemed to be talking to her cousin about something. They were too far away for Darling to make out what. Then Briar walked away. Rosabella waved in Darling's direction. Darling looked around to see if there was anyone behind her that Rosabella was waving too, but couldn't find anyone. Was Rosabella waving to her? So she risked it, Darling waved. Rosabella smiled in response, then decided to approach her.

"You okay? You looked kind of…lonely." Darling stared into Rosabella's dark hazel eyes.

"I'm not lonely." She replied.

 **"You're here - "**

"plus I know Chase won't ditch me."

"You sure? Guys can get pretty wild sometimes." Rosabella asked.

"I know Chase won't. He's been my best friend for – for forever."

"Wait… So you aren't dating?"

"What? No!" Rosabella giggled. "Please tell me you're the only one who thinks that!"

"Actually the whole school thinks that. A few teachers included."

"No wonder Mr Nimble wouldn't let Chase and I walk together on the trip!"

"Did he seriously!"

Rosabella and Darling kept talking for a while. Chase kept making glances towards them, distracted he lost the game. Not that he minded, but Alistair's well-earned bloating irritated him. "Does Bunny know you're like that?"

"Don't cry Chase. We all get our off days. "

The bell was rung, and Rosabella said "see you later" to Darling. Darling walked to her next lesson with Chase, who was still sulking about the game.

"You'll get him next time Chase." Darling just gave Chase a consoling pat-on-the-back.

* * *

 **Thanks for reviewing (those who did) and favouriting and/or following, because it does motivate me, when I don't feel like writing. Read you later?**

 **Crunol**


	3. Beauty and the Friend

**I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to put a warning for this but there's a slight hint of an ED here. Better safe than sorry. Enjoy** _Italics_ **Is the thoughts Darling has. My writing isn't up to par when I can just make thoughts flow like that. Sorry about** **that.**

* * *

It was easy to find Rosabella's sports bag. It was the only pink and purple one, which had ROSABELLA BEAUTY on the side in bright yellow writing. It was helpful her clothes were labelled on the inside, rather than the outside. Darling picked up the shirt first. It didn't actually smell that bad. In fact, Darling actually liked the smell. There was the faintest smell of sweat, hidden within the light fragrance. It smelt like a spicy flowery rose, but not. It was hard to phrase, it made her brain feel muzzy, but it was a good feeling. Was that her natural scent? Then Darling saw her deodorant lying at the bottom of the bag. Curiosity got the best of Darling. She sprayed her hand, and the scent of the deodorant smelt nothing like Rosabella's shirt. Grateful for the deodorant she used it. Rosabella definitely came well prepared – and there's a hair band too.

Nervous, Darling exited the changing rooms behind the small crowd of girls. She wondered how the usual quiet sports hall was filled with ambient chatter, then she saw the guys sitting on the floor, including Chase who was sitting cross-legged with his usual shy smile on. That instantly changed when he spotted Darling and started waving while wearing his goofy grin.

Today, the girls and boys would be having PE together. Due to the girl's PE teacher being away on a match with the older years. Excitement rushed through her core as she heard the words 'competition' and 'prize'. Darling was placed into group 5 along with Sparrow, Cedar, and Poppy. Darling felt really confident in her group's skills but when it came to team work… not so much. It wasn't as if Darling hated her team mates, she liked them all, really. But it was Poppy. Poppy was glaring at her all the time. Maybe not all of the time, but when Darling glanced over, it on confirmed the feeling that someone was watching her. The strong frown on Poppy's face didn't even try to hide. Darling could only avoid eye contact. She'd much rather be placed into Chase's group. Then she'd be with two guys she talked to. Sparrow at least, tried to make conversation but it went along the lines of "I've been charmed by your beauty." Like I haven't heard that one before."Want to meet up Saturday?" He was practically screaming I'm horny. Cedar wasn't really talkative but she was fast and got the job done.

Unlike Poppy who is still glaring. Making Darling very uncomfortable. She wanted desperately to go to Poppy to confront her about the glaring issue, but it built an invisible barrier that held Darling back. Darling was unable to find a way out of her situation, kind of like a knight who was stuck in the middle of a battle without any armour.

Unknowingly to Darling, the teacher approached her from behind and tapped her shoulder; jerking Darling out of her thoughts. "Miss Charming, please could you do me a favour and get twenty hurdles from the storage room in the sports office. " Darling didn't have a choice but to accept the key; she was ready to leave the hall, until she heard the shocking piece of news that crushed her confidence to complete the simple task. "Um, you might need to go with someone. Ah yes Poppy!" Her heart sank. No, no. I need to be more positive. I can use this opportunity to find out if Poppy has a problem with me or not.

Poppy didn't know why she was so fucking irritated. Maybe it was the way Sparrow's voice smoothed when talking to Darling like he was flirting with her, and the way Darling was responding with her witch giggles. She hated it. Couldn't they just shut up, and focus on the work they had to do. Running about twenty metres isn't hard.

Sparrow was definitely flirting with Darling - the words he was saying; the way he was phrasing them. Darling wasn't even thinking of Chase as far as Poppy knew. But their relationship had nothing to do with Poppy. She wasn't even close with Chase anyways to care. But it still pissed her off.

Her head felt way too warm. When she heard they were taking a break a wave or relief past over her, and she felt her tensing shoulders relax. Poppy needed that; her body ached. The course didn't seem worth it anymore. Poppy was sweating more than she had liked. Working with the boys was challenging. Then the boy's PE teacher approached her. When she was first offered to retrieve twenty mini hurdles she accepted, until she realised she would be going with Darling Charming. She just wanted to do JUST that, and ONLY that. The less time spent together the better.

The walk felt like it dragged on. Darling kept jingling around with the keys which pissed Poppy off because she was pretty much saying I'm-the-Boss-Of-You-Teacher-favours-me-more-because-I'm-a-Charming. The jingling stopped after Darling almost collided with the bin. A smile crept on Poppy's face but faded soon after. After that there was no more jingling. Just silence. Good thing too, Darling's self-righteous act almost made Poppy want to claw her eyes out. Almost.

Walking with Poppy was a deathly silence. Darling kept fidgeting with the keys. Staring at them for intricate details, for patterns. She hadn't noticed the upcoming bin which she barely scraped past. After that she looked up, but her eyes kept peeping towards Poppy, and she was still wearing that I-Hate-You-And-I-Would-Rather-Be-Anywhere-But-Here frown. At least that's what Darling liked to call it. Darling shook her head violently, she wasn't going to get distracted. She was going to complete her quest, get the hurdles and possibly settle the angry tension between them.

"Do you like me?" Poppy almost choked on air. What shocked her wasn't the question, but the amount of sincerity in Darling's voice. It kind of made her sound... Sociable. Which was completely odd because the person she had heard to describe sounded like a villain out of a Disney movie, the ones with no soul, or love or compassion for anyone else. Poppy nearly felt guilty for the first answer that came to mind.

"No I don't."

"Can you tell me why?" Poppy answered in a stoic manner, as if she was stating a fact everyone had come to terms with.

"You're a bitch to everyone."

Oh.

Darling was not expecting that. She was fairly sure she was very kind to people; she couldn't even remember the last time she did anything wrong to someone. She had always been following her mother's advice to make sure she could easily befriend strangers. Had she come off as too posh? Or weird? Or snobby? At times like these Darling wished she was more social so she knew exactly how to get what she meant across, and prove she wasn't a bitch.

They had reached the sports office, which Darling unlocked. Poppy took most of the hurdles while Darling was holding doors open. "Does Chase know?"

"Does Chase know what?" Does Chase know that I'm a bitch to people?

"Does Chase know the way you flirt with other guys when he's not here?"

"What? Chase and aren't dating."

"So you broke up with him or did he break up with you?"

"Chase and I were never dating, EVER we're are just best-friends." Poppy couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were definitely the school couple. Chase and Darling never seen apart.

"What about that other night when Lizzie was going over to Chase's for a family meeting and you were there. That seems kind of intrusive."

"Of course I was there! I'm Chase's sister." Darling was hoping Poppy wasn't taking what Darling said seriously. She'd hate to explain their relationship, because:it would take a long time to explain without causing misunderstandings or thinking we're really weird (although we totally are); and it would be very, very actually burst out laughing. Darling had no clue why.

"That's funny, because Lizzie thought you and Chase were going to do it."

"It?"

"You know... SE-"

"Ew gross. Not with Chase EVER."

"Okay what about the other time when you went with Hunter for a make out sesh while he was dating Ashlynn."

"I have never made out with Hunter ever either. Where are you getting all this from? They sound like rumours." Now that Poppy thought about it, these were all things she heard from her friends. She hadn't actually seen it happen, or asked Hunter if it was true. She had only seen Ashlynn burst into tears while being confronted by Goldilocks. That didn't mean they were talking about Hunter cheating on her with Darling.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I mean I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and judged you like that."

"Oh... That's okay."

"Really? It's okay for people to call you a bitch and shit like that?"

"What? No that's not what I meant." Poppy laughed again.

"I know I'm just messing with you."

The chemistry between group five was much better. It turned out the hurdles they were told to fetch weren't even for the lesson which made Darling wonder if the teacher knew about Darling's situation with Poppy. Maybe. After that their team's performance was much better and they started rapidly gaining points. Darling, though, wasn't focused fully. Something kept nagging her mind. This wasn't the first time she had heard about rumours, but it was only then she questioned how many more rumours there were. She believed that her and Chase dating was the only one. Darling could accept that, that rumour didn't cause any harm. But her and Hunter making out? Poppy believed she was a bitch which meant there were probably rumours about her mistreating other people too. How many rumours are there? I guess that explains Lizzie's also explained why Darling always sat by herself during Lunch when Chase wasn't around.

Like now. How the hell did Darling miss the whispers and sniggers around her. Was she oblivious? No, she knew they were there, she just didn't know that she was the reason. How the hell did that happen?Darling looked up from her meal, and could see in between the gaps of heads Goldilocks. They had a brief eye contact before Goldilocks viciously tore it away. Was she staring at me? Before Darling could look any longer her view was blocked, by a person. That person just happened to be Poppy. Outstandingly she wasn't sitting with Darling out of pity. Even more surprisingly there were more people like Cedar, and Rosabella, and another girl Darling didn't know the name of. Darling looked around for any free seats and there seemed to be loads, especially on Goldilock's table. Do they just want to sit with me then? Darling knew better than to get her hopes up though.

Then Chase joined, bringing Alistair along with him, not really realising the girl were sitting WITH Darling and not just NEXT TO her. So when Chase started a conversation with Darling and they all started contributing he became very shy, very quickly. He didn't mind though. It gave him relief that he didn't have to see a mopey Darling, every time he walked into lunch because she was too busy wallowing in her own self-pity. Then Poppy suddenly changed the mood of the conversation they were having.

"I've been so pissy lately, it's not even funny." Poppy started. "Basically what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry for being a bitch to all of you."

"You want to talk about it?" Cedar offered.

"No not really... " The group sat in silence for a bit, until Poppy sighed.

"It's Holly. She's been avoiding me all month; at first I ignored it because she wanted some space. I just thought she didn't want to be seen hanging around with her twin all the time. But then space just kept getting bigger and bigger, and now she's stopped talking to me completely. Like what the hell is going on with that?" Her voice was kind of strained when talking, but her face remained calm. "Like I'm not sure what the problem is, whether it's me or her. But I'm not really sure what to do, because when I ask her, she just doesn't respond. I understand if she just hates me all of a sudden, because then I'd know I shouldn't try to force myself on her, but I don't know if she's upset or something. I just don't want her to get back- back into it." Rosabella simply nodded. Darling had no clue what she meant by 'it', but it wasn't something Darling was willing to push.

Discreetly Holly walked into the room. Her hair seemed to be flowing behind her, and a smile radiated of her. Her eyes held onto a connection with her twin. A wave of guilt and sadness rushed over her, and reflected in her smile, which was no longer glowing. Outside she may have been one of the happiest girls in her school, but trapped deep inside was her tortured conscious. She knew she was doing the wrong thing - the one against her morals, her beliefs, who she was. "Who I still am." She hoped.

She betrayed her sister.

She looked away; she sat next to Goldilocks who was giggling next to her. What really made it hurt, was that Holly and Poppy always used to sit together. Always. Poppy was confused and aching by Holly's actions. Holly knew that, but she continued to do it anyway.

"Don't worry I'll talk to her for you. " Rosabella offered.

"No thanks, it's nice and all that you care, but this is family issues. I'd hate to drag you into something you'd better off not being in." With that Poppy just stood up and left. Not caring to look back to see if Holly cared if she left or not. Poppy was irritated. She knew that. Yet it didn't stop that nagging feeling called regret that was haunting her when she realised it could've been an opportunity to re-connect with her sister.

Darling had no clue what happened though. One minute they were talking about the unfairness of teachers, next minute Poppy practically stormed out. Now they were just eating in silence with their heads down. It wasn't just them. The entire dining room was silent. No one had the courage to speak, and release everyone from this tension.

* * *

 **Updates are going to take a slighty (I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating here. They might take weeks.) bit longer because I'm back in the education system. Yeah no holidays. This chapter took long because it wasn't flowing the way I wanted it to, and seemed really draggy. Any errors don't be scared to PM me. Reviews are welcome. I hope this chapter doesn't confuse you too much. It's just so that the other chapters make more sense, and flow better too. I like my flow. Read you later?**

 **Crunol.**


	4. Beauty and the Park

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ever After High.**

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It was Saturday. The bench was cold. It wasn't as cold as the breezy air that kept blowing on Darling's face, but unlike the bench Darling needed that breeze. She needed the bitter air to cool her down, she hated this feeling of annoyance. She felt too agitated, too angry. This uncomfortable bench didn't help her at all. It kept pressing against her back in uncomfortable ways. She couldn't slouch, she couldn't sit up. She couldn't even lie down. She wanted to move. She was craving to move. Darling craved to join Chase. She craved to play. All she ever wanted to do was play. Like the childish part of her still hadn't grown up, and was now trying to take over her life. Darling knew she couldn't be a child forever. So why hadn't she accepted that? Her thoughts frustrated her more than the uncomfortableness of the bench. She wanted to move. But her mother's voice chained her. Her words were like a thousand shackles. Darling couldn't break free. No matter how hard she tried. Her words haunted her. Influencing her all the time. Her words forced her to remain on that bench, because they frustrated Darling. They made her feel dejected.

* * *

 _"Mum can I go to the library?"_

 _"Sure are you going to the big one at the shopping centre, or the one near the cafe?"_

 _"Actually I was hoping if I could go to the one in Hargreaves..." Darling unconsciously bit her lip. She had promised Chase they would meet up during the weekend, and she didn't get permission from her Dad to leave and he had already left the house. Now she was getting permission from her mother to play a sport with Chase - a guaranteed no._

 _"Hargreaves! That's a good thirty minute drive from here! There must be a really special book that's worth driving all that distance out of Brinly for... Wait a minute, isn't Hargreaves where that Chase boy lives?" Darling thought about lying to her mother to settle her nerves, and help Darling escape her mother's suspicion, yet somehow she could never build the courage to._

 _"Yes." There was a slight hesitation, like her mind still hadn't agreed on the answer she should reply with._

 _"You're not going."_

 _"What why? You let Daring go meet some girls at the centre!"_

 _"You're a girl Darling. You have to remember that. If it's Chase you'll probably be off to do something dangerous, I'm not letting that happen. "_

 _"Kicking a ball is not dangerous!" Darling had accidentally let her true intention slip. Luckily her mother didn't pick up on it._

 _"Look Darling I will not argue this with you any further if you are unwilling to listen!"_

* * *

"Darling! Woah are you okay?" It was Alistair, since when did he arrive? "I'd been yelling at you for like ten minutes now."

"Can you pass the ball?" He asked. She replied hesitating slightly.

"Y-yeah sure." She picked it up from the ground, the smooth but hard ball. Running her finger along the hexagonal edge, she smiled internally. The familiar feeling of her fingertips on the surface of the football sparked a flame inside Darling, fuelling her. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. One she forced herself to suppress. Passion. She hadn't even realised how badly her longing to play had been suppressed. She dropped the ball on the ground. Her leg swung colliding with the ball

"Woah! Good kick!" Alistair struggled to stop the ball.

"Sorry it's really inaccurate."

"It's cool. Way better than Chase could kick it."

"Hey!" Chase whined. Alistair glanced at the time on his phone. Disappointment showed on his face, at the realisation he had to go.

"Well it was fun playing with you guys and all, but I'm supposed to go somewhere and I'm seriously behind time."

"Oooh date with Bunny?"

"Actually I'm going to see Maddie."

"What's this? Alistair has betrayed his heart Bunny, in exchange for Maddie! He's surely gone MADdie!" Chase laughed emphasising hard on the 'mad'.

"Ha Ha. Pure comedy Chase." Alistair sarcastically replied. "I'm just hanging out with Maddie cause she can't be left alone in her house, and I live closest to her. It's not like I had a choice really, my mother orders and I follow like a humble soldier."

"why can't you just follow what I say?" Her mother's voice stretched across the room in a screeching manner.

" -Darling byeeeee!"

"Right yeah bye Alistair." Darling waved towards a confused Alistair.

* * *

Rosabella Beauty. That was her name. A name that reminded others of who she was, who she is. A leader. A leader of an animal charity, dedicating to helping others who couldn't help themselves. A charity in which its members had volunteered to join. Rosabella was quite good at gathering new members. So why is it when they decide to branch out and hang posters for missing animals in Hargreaves, two of them go missing! It felt as if they were trying to skip out on work... "Honestly if they didn't want to help the animals why'd they sign up?" Then she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure Gus and Helga are skiving, once again." It was Adam, that sent a wave of relief over Rosabella.

"I wouldn't mind so much, but I gave the keys to Gus." A strong sigh left Rosabella's mouth.

"Alright, okay I'll help you look for them. I'll go check inside shops and things."

"Thanks." Rosabella just watched Adam walk away, throwing a hand through his tawny hair to make sure it was still pointing in the right direction. If Adam was looking for them in one area, Rosabella decided to look for them in another, she followed footpaths surrounded by bushes and green fields. What made her nervous was the bridge. She felt maybe she had been walking too far. She didn't recognise this place at all, then again that wouldn't stop Gus or Helga from venturing past the bridge. Rosabella sighed, indeed she was spending too much time, all she has to do was find the two, and then hand out the leaflets. Then everyone could go back home. Simple.

* * *

Holly crept silently into her house, she purposely came in through the back window, just because the back door was ridiculously noisy. Yet her black coat refused to listen to her demands as it made quiet noises that echoed loudly in her silent house. She didn't want to wake up her over protective family. She was a big girl, she could handle herself, and her own business. And she certainly didn't need her family poking themselves into it. "Where have you been?" The shock sent chills through her, but Holly didn't let it show.

"None of your business." She instantly regretted saying that. Although she wasn't looking she could sense the hurt and anger her sister wore. It became more obvious in her tone of voice as it stretched. It started in a whisper, then switched to a suppressed yell.

"None of my business? You're my sister, what happens to you is my business, I've been awake for hours wondering where the fuck you were! I was worried about you! You just left at 8 and come back at 2 in the morning and then expect me to just be cool with it?!" Holly could tell her sister struggled to calm her voice. It was getting louder. Her parents would wake up and wonder why Holly was wearing her jeans, coat and shoes. They'd then piece together she'd been out. (Or that she was going out). But the rage on her sister face's probably meant she wouldn't cover for her. That'd mean she'd have to explain herself. But Holly couldn't do that, because if she told... No, Holly couldn't think like that. She made it this far, she could do it.

"Are you even listening? Holly I'm worried about you!" Holly tried walking past Poppy, but Poppy quickly grabbed her wrist. "Holly what is going on with you?" The words came out like a whisper. Her sister was less filled with anger and more with pained sadness. It pained Holly a great deal to see her cheery sister to melanchalous. Her calm headed sister so filled with rage. Holly had to end the conversation in the quickest way she knew how. She wanted to, she knew she needed to. But instead she allowed her self to escape the tight prison she kept herself into, and allowed her eyes to flicker to the right. Then she saw. All the pain and sadness and care filled inside her sister reflecting in her eyes. There was only one word on her mind, "I'm sorry." Then she ran.

"Fuck it. Don't lose her again." Poppy thought. She was desperately trying to catch her sister, calling out her name. She realised her parents were awake by now, but she didn't care. She got words out of her sister, she wasn't letting go now. She was too fucking close... If only Holly hadn't locked herself in her room, then Poppy could storm in there, and demand an answer. But all she could do was lean her forehead against the door, and cry. What was that sorry? What was she sorry for? Why are you keeping this all to yourself?" Poppy whispered to the door. Hoping that maybe her sister could hear her. That her sister cared. Poppy slumped against the door. "What the hell did you get yourself into?" She sighed.

* * *

Dexter didn't know why his high score was so low. The game wasn't even hard! There's no way he would ever admit to being bad at the game, but everyone else seemed to find it so easy. You know what he was finding it easy, his finger just weren't complying with what his brain thought. He was having off moments. Simple. Bzzt. "Just beat it again, now on 53." Message from Humphrey. Dexter growled.

"Woah what was that noise?"

Dexter was scrolling through his phone (again) looking through which mask would be best. They were all pretty childish - the costumes that is. There were dinosaurs, vampires, skeletons. They seemed pretty effective, but but he couldn't go as his awkward self. This was his only opportunity to get with his crush, even if she believed it wasn't him, but some dreamy mystery guy. Yet surely she wasn't an idiot and would spot him instantaneously. Bzzt. A message from Humphrey. "Found your dream suit." Under it came a picture of a man in tight clear green frog costume.

"Fuck off." Dexter replied.

Humphrey sent a row of laughing emojis.

* * *

At first the path was a straight line. Then the path split into two. There was a signpost, one pointing to Hargreaves Estate, the other pointing to Hargreaves Fields. Rosabella decided she'd stick to the right path and head towards the fields. It sounded like she had a less chance of getting lost in the fields than she did in the estate. And there was a park sign underneath the signpost. Gus and Helga probably went there to relax. Then again causing havoc in a peaceful area, and getting chased by the police, did seem like something they'd rather do.

Rosabella glanced at the watch on her wrist. She didn't have much time.

She came across the park. She could tell by the fence surrounding the large area of grass. The park was bare, there was only a makeshift goalpost, and a bench. Yet there were two people playing football. If only her glasses had stronger prescriptions she'd be able to make them out. One of them had long blonde hair, was about the same size as her, but amazing football. Probably a female. Like wow really amazing. She'd never seen any female play football this good... So why were the shapes... the outlines... so recognisable? No female she knew matched the description The other one was taller, and broader. Had gelled black hair... unless hair naturally rose against gravity... Most likely male.

Rosabella was going to continue analysing the pair, until the ball flew past her head. She dived down, behind the bushes, the ball narrowly missed her. If she had dived any second later the ball would've made contact with the side of her face. The ball bounced of the sign post behind her, changing course towards the outside of the park.

Chase could've sworn he saw something behind the bushes dive down. He wasn't looking in that direction, but it appeared in his perepheral vision like a blur. He for sure thought it was a person. But the thing that bugged him the most was that it was familiar... Like he had seen that colour before... if only he had focused on the image in time. .. He looked towards Darling to ask if she had seen the same thing, but he noticed the direction of her sight was towards the ball, rolling away at speeds. "She just had to smash it..." He thought to himself.

"Don't worry I'll get it." Chase yelled before running in the direction of the ball.

Chase then came to a halt. He watched as the ball rolled towards a stranger and his companion. "Hey could you pass me the ball please?" The stranger turned around. He picked up the ball and pointed to it.

"This ball?" He asked. Chase simply nodded. The boy had light blonde hair with what appeared to be pink highlights. He had a square jaw, and a large build. He appeared to be the same height of Darling (of course when she wasn't wearing heels). Next to him was a girl, who possessed similar features... They both seemed like quite nice people.

"Are they related?" Chase thought.

"What do you think Helga? Should we give him the ball back, or should I throw it in the other direction." Chase was shocked, unable to tell if he was joking or not.

"I don't care, let's just get out of here so we don't get caught by Rosabella or Adam." Rosabella?

"Too late." A voice said from behind them. Chase guessed that was the Adam they were speaking of. He was taller than the two, almost the same height as Chase. Almost. He looked like he came straight out of a Disney movie. Brown hair, blue eyes... He even had the twinkle in his eyes. "Return his ball." Instructed Adam.

"Thanks." Chase replied. Adam nodded in response. Then he turned towards the pair.

"Let's leave. I'll hear your excuse later." The group walked away, the pair obviously sulking... probably muttering curses behind their leader's back. Chase, on the other hand, was confused. He heard Rosabella's name, but why? He didn't think Rosabella lived near this area... Was the person he saw Rosabella? Chase ran off past Darling, toward the bush. But when he approached it, he saw it twitch.

"Chase? Is everything okay?" Darling asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I think I see something." But when he looked behind there was nothing. "I guess I imagined it." Chase said laughing it off.

"Chase! A squirrel!" Chase reassured himself. That's what he saw, a squirrel. There was no way Rosabella would be hiding behind a bush. She didn't seem like that type of person. "If she saw us she would say hi, right?" Chase's mind kept pondering on the issue.

" Plus Rosabella doesn't live in this area. She has no business here. Unless she was with the pink pair and that guy called Adam. Those pair did mention her name..."

The more Chase thought about it, the more he seemed persuaded. " Rosabella had definitely been here!" He realised. "She was behind that bush. She was watching us play football. Which meant she had seen. But if she was here? When did she leave?"

"Chase? Are you okay?" Darling's freezing hand against his arm shocked him out of his thoughts. "You're frowning."

"Yeah I'm fine." He replied. "I'm just wondering when my Mum's going to pick us up. That's all."

"I told my mum I'd be at the library. Is it cool if she drops me there?"

"I'll call her." They waited for fifteen minutes before Chase's mum came speeding in, almost avoiding the street light at the turning. Her red Range Rover came to a drastic stop, almost skidding a few feet. If Darling was any other person, her spine might've frozen, but she wasn't any other person. She was Darling Charming, and Darling Charming knew about the eccentric behaviour of Mrs. Redford. The car door swung open, almost flinging off in the process.

"Welcome Darling!"

"Afternoon Mrs. Redford. The car looks beautiful." Darling said remembering how Mrs. Redford loved to be complimented.

"Indeed it does, I took it to the car wash and they did a decent job - for once." She paused for a minute, laughing silently at her joke. "So I hear I'm dropping you at the library, is this correct?"

"Yes please."

"My goodness, you're so polite. If only Chase had picked up half the manners you have."

"What? I do have manners!"

"Anyways how was football?" For some reason, Chase's mum knew that Darling liked to play sports in her spare time. How she knew they were playing football could;ve been deducted from the football Chase was holding in his lap, but the fact that she knew that Darling was playing instead of sitting on the bench and watching, made Darling feel like she knew her better than her own mother did. Like her own mother didn't know her at all.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Darling are you sure you can't go to the masquerade party on Saturday? If so I can drop you and pick you up at the same time as I do with Chase. "  
It was the small phrases like that, which made Darling feel so loved her, but so neglected in her own home. She felt so conflicted at times, but mainly she felt guilt. She was so privileged. She was a Charming, her family's reputation alone would be enough to rent out a cinema. Other kids would die to even spend a night in her home, so why was it that she hated living there. Maybe it was because she wasn't allowed to go play football with her best friend; nor was she allowed to play Man vs Dragon: The Great Castle Takeover, even after she bought it with her own money; nor even wear trousers on a night out, with Dexter. These things sounded so small but they meant so much, because those were the things that Darling loved to do. The things that made her, well her. And it seemed she couldn't even be herself because she had a reputation to uphold. A reputation that forced her to do everything she enjoyed in secret from her family, and that made life difficult for Darling. But a Charming complaining about life being difficult? She'd be labelled as those ungrateful teenage girls from chick flicks, who were always whining about emotional support for the tiniest obstacles. So she kept it to herself. Like now when she replied:

"I'm not going," while smiling. This time there had been no tears.

If Mrs. Redford had been any other parent, she might've known where the boundaries where parents usually stop prying into another child's life, respected Darling's decision to not go, and leave it at that. If Mrs. Redford had been any other parent she only would've seen Darling's answer as what is was. If Mrs. Redford was any other parent she might've realised that the tears generated from the last time she answered that question, probably meant that the answer was a bit too emotionally straining on Darling, but Mrs. Redford had always been a bit eccentric. She wasn't any other parent, she was Mrs. Redford, and she KNEW Darling. "Oh why Darling?"

Her mind for a moment thought of an answer, an answer that she subconsciously switched off, she didn't know what the answer was. She just knew that she couldn't say, and at that moment she could feel her eyes stinging. Desperately, she tried to hold the tears inside, she had no clue why this was happening. Darling couldn't even think how embarrassing this experience as, she really had to focus on stopping the tears from escaping. Mrs. Redford questioning the long pause looked up into her rear view mirror, only too see Chase holding his arms round Darling. She could've easily guessed by Darling's body language, and silence that she was upset (again). Mrs. Redford internally sighed. This girl looked like she needed a break in life, and Mrs. Redford knew the perfect one.

"Did you know Chase, that when it came to masquerade parties your mother was the girl-to-go-to for masquerade masks and costumes?" Chase frowned, slightly confused by her statement.

"Well you didn't think I was ordering your costume from online did you?" Chase knew his mum was making his mask for him so it'd be unique, and cheaper, but he had no clue what she meant when stating this. "What's the main theme of masquerade parties?"Again she paused, before answering her own question. "Disguises, disguises, disguises. The best masks are the one that label you unrecognisable. I know we all have to follow rules, and society can somewhat scare you adolscents into fitting into a mold that you don't really feel free in, which is what makes masquerades so fun. You get to let loose. Have a bit of fun. Before returning to boring old school." Chase still looked really confused, but was starting to get what she meant, a little bit. Mrs. Redford just sighed. "You get to be yourself, and no one knows it's you.

Darling on the other hand understand that all, and her heart chipped a little bit. The only chance she may have had to be herself was gone. Her tomboyish, free self, disappeared. "My parents will never let me go." She whispered, but it was only audible enough for Chase to hear.

"No worries, just say you're going to the library again." He whispered back.

"But then how will I get there?"

"My mum'll take you, she loves you. You can just say you're my friend from my old kickboxing club."

"And what if someone finds out it's me? Then it gets back to my parents. With this kind of stunt, I'm pretty sure I'll get kicked out. They'll send me to my aunt if they find out!"

"Is living with your aunt really that bad in comparison to your parents?" Darling glared back her response, obviously not finding Chase's joke amusing.

"No _worries_ Darling, you just have to see the masks my mum makes. Honestly you will be unrecognisable."

Mrs. Redford had always believed in children having fun while they still had the opportunity to do so, she could not stand the way Darling was refusing herself. She had a few guesses as to why, but she knew what Darling really needed was some persuasion, and some help. And she knew exactly what to do.

* * *

 **Woo that whole chapter was hard! Not going to lie the effort put in so it made sense. If it does clash with the other chapters please! please! Please let me know! Likewise with spelling mistakes. Just incase you get confused 1 week left till the party!**

 **Thanks to those for favouriting and following, it does help motivate me to push myself to write more, otherwise this could've taken till like after Christmas. This feeling of completing this chapter is pretty cool.**

 **Now I'm just a bit nervous about how it went: SO don't forget to leave a review if you feel like it. (Who am I to force you into it?)**

 **Write more later.**

 **Crunol**


	5. Beauty and the Warmth

**The Rosabella x Darling update is here!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters here. Nor do I own Ever After High.**

* * *

It was Monday. Dexter was scrolling through costumes on his phone, when Humphrey sprinted round the corner. "DEEEEEXTEEERR!" Dexter didn't have enough time, by the time he looked up from his phone screen, it was already too late. Humphrey came crashing into Dexter. "Ow. Humphrey? What the hell?"

"Sorry Dexter, no time, uh don't go in Lab 3 for a while!" from there Humphrey dusted himself off, then stood up frantically. Dexter could only watch Humphrey run off.

"What the hell?" When Humphrey had crashed into him, his thumb accidentally touched an item on his screen, but it didn't look bad. After considering it for a few moments he tapped add to basket.

* * *

Darling was on her own walking to English. How she loved that lesson (!). At least she wasn't isolated in English, as they actually sat in tables, and not rows. But when she walked into the room, it was as if the tables were sick of each other and moved to be in orderly lines, yet it was so disorderly. Faybelle Thorne was sitting in, what Darling thought was Darling's seat.

"Miss Charming, there's been a new seating arrangement, it's on the board." The English teacher said pointing towards the whiteboard. Darling glanced at the board, then at the room. It seemed like everyone had already been sitting down, and Darling was the last one in. Their glares were a little unsettling. Darling when she came to her seat was expecting no one to be next to her, like in the past years. So when she saw Rosabella sitting next to the seat she was assigned; she was startled. The teacher handed out new books.

"This, " he startes "is a play written in the 18th Century about the 10th Century!" He chuckled at his very own (unfunny) joke. "It was written by the English author, James William, lucky for you, you will have to analyse it for your exams!" Darling just rolled her eyes. The teacher began to pull out a hat from under his chair. "One at a time, come pick out a piece of paper from the hat, but don't unfold it until I say when. That's because the writing you see on the pieces of paper, will be your character for the termmmm!" When it reached Darling's turn she went to remove a piece of paper from her English teacher's hat.

Faybelle on the otherhand, had already looked at the writing inside of the piece of paper. "What the hell? George of Jones' sister? That sounds like such a minor character..." She groaned. She looked around, noticing Darling with her piece of paper in hand. She smirked. "Darling could you get me a piece of lined paper please?"

"Uh sure."

"Such an easy target" she thought to herself. Rosabella was occupied talking to the teacher about something Fay couldn't care less about, and Darling had already stood up and moved away, leaving her neatly folder piece of paper behind. Faybelle then switched her's with Darling's. Then she read it. "Lady of the Wilfred Lands. Now that sounds like a major character." She looked around again to check, if anyone had seen. She smirked to herself, as no one had.

"Here's your paper Faybelle."

"Fay is fine." She said fake smiling. How she hated Darling Charming.

"Okay! Now time to unfold! When I call out your name just tell me your character description, and I shall tell you your character! If you don't already have an obvious one." Darling on the other hand was far away. It took her a while to realise that the tenth century meant knights, and dragons. Of course this might not be true, as this was some 18th century version of it, but still. Darling had really hoped the character she had would be some valliant knight, even if the knight had a supporting role.

"-Darling Charming", the teacher said interrupting her thoughts. She looked up confused at what was happening.

"Read what's on the paper..." He said slightly becoming impatient.

"Right of course." She said to herself. She unfolded the paper only to read "George of Jones' sister." Darling was very disappointed when she discovered it wasn't a knight, yet she never let that show. When the English teacher discovered that he smiled to himself.

"Yes! Lily daughter of Jones." Then a ringing went off in the class. "Whoops, sorry that's mine." The teacher excused himself, and left for about five minutes before he returned, his mood slightly dampened. "Sorry Class, but I have urgent matters to attend to, I'd like you to discuss with your partners, what role you think your character has in the play, whether they're a main character, a villian, a supporting, what you'll think they'll do. Just discuss."

Usually in discussion, Darling had to work in threes, and was usually ignored. But this wasn't the same case. This time she was in a pair. A pair with Rosabella. But Rosabella was her friend, there was no need to overthink this. That was probably the first time this lesson that Darling had made eye contact with Rosabella. And she was closer than Darling anticipated her to be. She was close enough for Darling to analyse the way her hair waved in and out of itself. How some waves were tinted slightly red - a gentle red. A feature Darling had never noticed before.

"Darling, are you okay?"

"Hm yes. Why is that?"

"I guess you kind of looked down, your character is Lily of Jones right?"

"Uh yeah." Darling said, somewhat slow to respond. "She doesn't really sound like a character who does much. "

"Nope."

"Nope?" Darling questioned. Looking at Darling's confused face, Rosabella couldn't help but giggle.

"She's actually the hero of the story." Faybelle hearing them from behind scowled.

"So she's a knight?" Darling questioned.

"Have you read it too?"

"No I just put together, hero and 10th century." Rosabella was mildly surprised at Darling's knowledge of the 10th century, her being _mildly_ surprised was mainly due to the fact that her pencil case was knight themed. Of course the average person wouldn't be able to deduct this. Darling's pencil case consisted of sparkly silvers, and ONE knight pen. The one Darling lent to Rosabella. Which did make Rosabella curious so she asked.

"Do you like Knights a lot?" Darling somewhat stunned by the question, instantaneously almost went red.

"Does she know?" She thought to herself. She could only manage a 'huh' as a response as her brain shut down from embarrassment.

"Is she embarrassed?" Thought Rosabella. "Like you seem to know lots on them, so I was wondering if you liked them a lot or something." She said. But that gave Darling enough time to think of an excuse.

"In primary school, there was this project we had to do on fairy tales, and I chose to do knights, because it seemed like the only interesting thing to do."

"And you still remember?" Rosabella questioned, slightly skeptical.

"Well yes... It was really fun, so it stuck more?" Rosabella giggled again at this. "Why what's funny?"

"Your responses are the cutest." Darling was so unused to seeing Rosabella so giggly. When Darling took short glances,she was always serious or focused. Mainly stressed. Seeing this more alive side, this happier one, Darling got this weird feeling inside. She liked it. She liked making Rosabella laugh like this.

The door swung open interrupting all noise, and the teacher entered the classroom.

"Right, sorry about that. Someone had been misbehaving in the science lab. And they needed a detective to solve the work."

"Sure they did." Darling and Rosabella thought, both rolling their eyes. But when they both noticed each other doing this, they laughed. It was only as Darling's eyes drifted to the clock that she noticed the time, and the sudden realisation. The Black Knight was coming out in four minutes. Darling promised herself she would read this edition, so she needed to order it before it became sold out. The curses of supporting an over popular comic. Darling raised her hand.

"Sir, may I go to the bathroom please?" Darling asked.

"Yes, go ahead!"

* * *

It was lunch. Sadly Chase missed break (again) due to his detention, and couldn't hang out with Darling. But that was the least of his worries. His biggest concern was Rosabella. He had been let out of his detention a few minutes before break had ended, and for a few seconds he saw Darling. Sitting on the bench, playing on her phone. He was about to sprint off to her, when Rosabella, who had drifted from her group, approached Darling first. Chase simply observed. He noticed the way Darling's face lit up when Rosabella approached her, and he noticed how when Rosabella showed her the A4 sheets she pulled out of her bag, her face dropped too. At that moment Chase wanted to know what Rosabella had handed to her that in response her mood soured. He wanted to rush in there and yell, but he knew that would be irrational, and he refrained himself from doing so. Yet before he could move he heard the bell ringing, and a teacher calling out his name. "Redford!" And so all of break time was wasted.

"But now it's lunch!" He thought. "Where is Darling Charming?" Chase had spent about 5 minutes lurking outside the girls' toilets when he saw Darling exiting the Red Building. And he knew she saw him too because she ran in the opposite direction of where she had come from.

"Not this again..." He groaned mentally to himself. "Darling!" He called. He followed her but paused at the corner. He decided he'd take a short cut, and go through the drama room. As he passed through, he could feel the glares piercing through him, from the Drama students in there. He dare not make eye contact in case it turned into something verbal. Gladly he'd do it again to see that surprised look on Darling's face when she suddenly saw Chase in front of her. That same shocked face switched into a smirk, then Darling sprinted into a classroom. Chase had no choice but to follow. However when he walked in he accidentally knocked the chair keeping the door open, causing the light in the room to vanish.

"Ah! Chase stop Chasing me!"

"You play that same pun every day!" Chase pulled out the shiny black cover, which Darling could barely see."Guess who go the newest edition of Black Knight?"

"What? How did you get that?"

"Two words - Pre. Order."

"Let me read it please?"

"You'll have to reach for it." Darling stared at him in disbelief.

"You're not serious."

"Yep, revenge for the pun."

Lately Rosabella has been a bit more overwhelmed than usual. The planning for the party took more prep than she actually thought it would. "But it will all be worth it!" She thought. But now, some of the effects of staying up late - later than usual, due to party planning, made her forgetful. Like now she left her bag inside the French room. She was lucky she remembered before her next lesson. As she walked towards he door, she noticed in the windows there appeared to be two figures incredibly close to each other. One figure's head kept rising and falling , but majority of it's shape was blocked by the much larger figure. Until the head turned into the light. It was Chase! And someone else? Then Rosabella realised what she was watching. Her face suddenly flushed, and she sprinted off.

Chase noticed something in the corner of his eye. It was Rosabella! He turned to look, but a second after she sprinted off. Chase didn't even notice Darling swipe the book straight out of his hands.

"I saw you with Rosabella at break today." Chase said.

"Really? You were at break?"

"I was going to come over, but I had to talk to one of my science teachers about something. You looked kind of down? What did she give to you?"

* * *

It was break. Rosabella was standing in a circle with a group of girls, she really didn't know that well. She had only really heard of Faybelle and Miss Swan. If she was being honest she wasn't really listening, she was more interested about which DJ she would hire for the party this Saturday. She kept glancing at her phone screen in her inside pocket, until a familiar name stole her attention.

"-Yeah she and the English teacher missed like half of English."

"What? Is she fucking the English teacher now aswell?" Some random girl asked.

"They left at different times, but I heard they do. I mean how else can someone so ditzy like her, get high grades in English? Through sex." The other girls just ooed. Rosabella just frowned. Surely the people she was surrounded by weren't as stupid to believe something as nonsensical as this? "Darling would never do that?" She thought. The Darling she knew anyways.

"Chase probably hasn't been giving her enough attention."

"Well he is human, there's no way anyone would be able to satisyfy an attention whore like Darling."

"How the hell did someone like her end up so twisted? When Daring and Dexter are so kind?" They were so engrossed in their bitching that they hadn't even notice Rosabella walk away from them, they didn't even notice she was walking to Darling on the other side of the field.

Darling was sitting on the bench, refreshing the website page, on her phone, over and over again. She could not believe that the website had crashed. Her chances of getting the comic before it was sold out were dwindling now, and the worst part was that it only sold in stores in America. And it'd probably be sold out there too.

"Hey." Darling looked up, she knew that voice. She almost jumped up in excitement. But of course Darling wouldn't let that show. A Charming should always appear calm.

"Rosabella? Why are you here?"

"You know how you missed the end of English, well you missed out on the homework as well." Darling didn't know why she was disappointed, Rosabella was being kind, she could've not picked up the homework, and left Darling to get a detention. "It's due in on Monday." Rosabella said.

"Thanks." Rosabella just stared at Darling. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well there's another rumour about you."

"Again?"

"Yeah, it's about you having sex with English teacher."

"What? Ewwww, oh this is worse than me having sex with Chase! I don't even like our English teachers, how did this even start?" Rosabella just started laughing again. "It's not funny, this is serious!"

"I know, I know, but you don't seem as distressed as I thought you would be."

"Well, yeah it is only rumours." Darling just slumped into the bench, forgetting she was in school. " It's not like I have much of a social life at school to be worrying about. People don't really talk to me, so I guess it doesn't affect me that much?" Darling just sighed.

"Not much of a social life?" Rosabella thought. Before Rosabella could voice her thoughts the bell rang.

"See you later, yeah?" If Rosabella hadn't had French yet, she would have linked her arms with Darling so they would walk together to wherever they were going. She wanted to know how Darling managed to think she didn't have much of a social life, when she was one of the most popular girls in school. It became clearer to Rosabella, that Darling definitely wasn't the archetypal Charming. So then _who is Darling Charming._ And why was she soo interesting to Rosabella? Rosabella was so involved in her thoughts, she almost forgot to say goodbye.

Unknown to her Darling was in a rush to get to her next lesson. Darling didn't know why, but when Rosabella was close to her she felt like melting and hiding away. Was she embarrassed. "She already knows I like knights, what more is there to be embarrassed about?" She muttered under her breath. Darling was feeling overly warm. Was she sweating? The more she thought about Rosabella, the more Darling started feeling _weird._

* * *

"Oh you know... Homework."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Blushing?! Was that why I was feeling so warm? I can't be blushing! I have no reason to blush!"

"Wait you were feeling warm? Outdoors? In September?"

"Yes Chase! I'm freaking out!"

"Calm down Darling! Let's just talk this through. So you were feeling warm, in September while you were outdoors, with Rosabella."

"- And I hadn't been moving!"

"-And you hadn't been moving. Relax that's perfectly normal. After all it's September, not some freezing November."

"But that's the problem. I was feeling like a weird warm, ugh I don't know how to explain it."

"Yeah, you're sounding really strange. Are you sure you aren't sick or something."

"I think I am."

"Well I think it's our lunch now. Well you're not you when you're hungry." Maybe the snickers ad was right. Maybe this was all a result from hunger taking over her mind.

* * *

Lunch was peaceful. Chase and Darling were having a conversation about past Black Knight editions, mainly about who the mysterious White Knight was, and why he randomly killed the Red Knight, and of course it was all to be revealed in this edition, which Chase had already red. But of course he wouldn't reveal any details like a true friend. The conversation ended abruptly when Alistair arrived, but smoothly switched to teasing him about his crush. Once Alistair had finished they were all ready to leave together when Chase noticed Rosabella. And then everything came flooding back. "Guys don't wait up, I've got to go do something."

"Huh?" But before Darling could ask, he was already gone.

"Rosabella! Rosabella!" Chase shouted, trying to get her attention. She turned around almost shocking herself.

"Chase? You needed me?"

"It was you!"

"What?" She said confused. "If this is about what happened in the classroom, honestly I didn't see anything it was really dark, and I wasn't planning on telling anyone either."

"The Classroom? What? No? This is about the park. I saw you. Behind the bush."

"Oh yeah, I was looking for some stray members then a football came flying out of no where, and almost hit me in the face!" She said laughing it off. "Wait... So that means the tall guy I saw was you!"

"Wait..." Chase paused himself mentally. "

"So who was your friend? Cause I only ever see you with Darling." Chase at that exact moment, was dumbfounded. He came to make sure Rosabella didn't spread Darling's secret. Not him spread it himself.

"Which friend?" Chase tried to lie his way out of it.

"You know the blonde with long hair. Was it Darling?" Chase could feel himself sweating.

"No no no no no no no no, there's no waaay that was Darling. No it was my friend from my kickboxing club. He has long blonde hair too. You wouldn't know him - 'cause you don't attend my kickboxing club."

"Oh really, they must look really similar!"

"Plus even if it wasn't him, Darling would neeever play football. Never she's all about dresses, and shoes and make up. Yep. "

"Riiight, okay. Bye then, Chase."

"Wait what happened in the Classroom?"

"If he doesn't know it mustn't have been anything then." Rosabella thought to herself. "Sorry I must've been confusing myself. See you later Chase."

"Yeah, Bye."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Chase was unbearable confused. Mainly by Darling's strange behaviour. He was so glad he was home. What he wasn't expecting when he reached home was his mum chopping carrots. Humming as she did so as well. Usually when he arrived him his Mum would be screaming at the TV, or at the person she was speaking to on the phone, He never expected to see his Mum chopping carrots.

"Hello Dear. How was your bus journey back home?"

"Evening Mum, it was alright. The Bus Driver though - "

"- Sit down Chase." She said interrupting him. Chase swung his bag over his shoulder and dropped it on the floor. Then he took a seat in the kitchen opposite Mrs Redford.

"Yes Mum?" Unaware as to why his Mum too was showing strange behaviour.

"Listen Chase, you have a half-sister. I don't know if she's told you yet, but you're moving in with her!" At that moment she jumped up and clapped her hands together, dispelling the serious air around her.

"Heh?"

"Oh no worries! It's not something instantaneous! You still have the month here!"

"Wait what? Who's my half-sister?" It took Chase a moment, but then he realised why Lizzie and her parents where at his house unexpected. Lizzie and he had never talked much during school hours, so for her to come over randomly, it must've been something to do with their parents. And now Chase realised. "Lizzie is my half-sister isn't she?"

"Yes! Isn't that fab!"

"Fab?

"Oh you don't know? It's Lizzie Hearts! And you'll be moving in with her, and your biological mother, next month."

"Next month? What about my life here?"

"Your life here will still be the same, she lives on the other side of the estate, not the other side of the world."

"I'm not going. I'm staying!" Chase did not believe for a moment that he was moving to live with some stranger, biological or not. He liked life here, and truth was he loved his Mum, weirdness and all. Even though she was the only Mum he had, she was still the best.

"You can't stay."

"Why can't I stay?! Why can't I get a choice in this, when it's obviously affecting me!"

"Because she's threatening to call the police Chase!" CLANG! In anger Mrs. Redford's knife slipped out of her hand dropping on the floor, narrowly missing her feet. The sharp clanging, jolted the Redfords out of their anger. Mrs. Redford made a heavy sigh before continuing, in a calmer voice. "She threatened to call the police Chase. You think I haven't tried to keep you here? You weren't born in a hospital Chase. There was only one person who actually witnessed your birth, and that's your mother. Now she wants you back, she has all the evidence to make it seem like I've kidnapped you from birth, and decieved you into believing that I've legally adopted you."

"But you have legally adopted me?"

"No. You were never in an adoption centre. She would've killed you than be seen in an adoption centre."

"So the woman who wanted me dead, wants me to live with her."

"Don't say that Chase. She went through a really hard time." They went through a long period of silence, until Mrs. Redford picked up her knife and the sound of the metal blade hitting the wood rhythmically began again.

"I don't want to go." Chase whispered. The sounds of the knife stopped, and Mrs. Redford embraced Chase like it would be the last time she'd be able to.

"I don't want you to leave either."

* * *

 **Hey guys, another chapter done. Updates are going to be slower, I know I've become one of those authors who value exams, and stuff. I'll try to keep the chapters shorter to update faster, this was obviously a long one.**

 **A/N IN this AU - 'Goldilocks' is a nickname, for Blondie Lockes. No I'm not having Blondie Lockes mother the same age as Darling, that would be weird...**

 **Darling and Chase AREN'T related. When Darling said she was his sister, she was just describing their relationship. Not literal.**

 **The usual secondary school, there's 10 periods in the day. Period 1-4 is before break. After break 5-6, then lunch, then Periods 7-10. I don't know if this is the same for other countries, but there's a bit of info ;). That's just cause there's a lot of time jumping in this chapter. If that confuses you just remember break comes before lunch.**

 **Write to you guys later. Let me know spelling mistakes, if you're confused. And if you want to review feel free.**

 **Crunol.**


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